So I am thinking of ordering another Europa 4 string in 32" scale. However, I would like to have the pickups put in different locations. I deally, both of them would be next to each other and in a more centered location, as opposed to the jazz bass-like location that is standard. Not quite in the p-bass location and not in a MM location, but somewhere in between. Can this be done? Is this an upcharge? I would still want to control either pickup even though they would be side by side.

Second, I was thinking of just getting a standard top wood (maple) with mahogany body wood, but then having the bass painted white - sort of off-white/alpine white/vintage white... or something like that. Is that possible? Would the neck still be satin finished?

We can place the pickups in any postion you like on a Europa and it is no additional charge. Keep in mind the closer they are located (and you can even have them in the same route), they more alike the pickups will sound. The controls won't change unless you custom order them too, so you'd have a normal pan/blend even if the pickups are paractically touching eachother.

White paint is available. Satin finish neck is a little tricky with opaque colors. White would probably look the best, but it will always look a little "powdery" compared to the rest of the bass. The tansition between the satin and the gloss will also look a little weird, but it will feel just like a clear finish, you'll just notice details on the plain field that you normally wouldn't on a clear one.

Another consideration on a bass like you decribe is the hardware finish. Without the woods for decoration, this is more important that on natural finishes. Gold, chrome or blackened brass would all look pretty cool, just depends on your taste. There's nothing wrong with the regular polished brass of course!

Have you considered having just the body or top painted white and leaving the neck natural? You could then mirror what you did on the body to the headstock for full effect.

With regard to pickups, I have considered a three pickup version with a pair of MXYs located side-by-side as you describe. My thought was to treat them like separate coils of a humbucking pickup in terms of tone processing. I would add some switching to control which of those two pickups were live at any time. I think I would opt for a more MM location since the addition of the third pickup closer to the neck would give me some good tone blending options. Not sure if Alembic has ever done anything like that, but it seems like it would be interesting. Just too expensive an experiment for me.

Maybe you could try a Fatboy behind an MXY for a little more tonal variety if you go for this config? That soounds like a more conservative experiment.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I was thinking chrome hardware for sure on white. I am also considering black finish as well... I failed to clarifiy my question on the satin finish - is an unpainted but satin finish on the back of neck "standard" or more common on paint finished basses? This what I have seen on the few painted Alembics I have seen in the past. I was just curious... I think that is what I would prefer, while having the rest of the bass painted.

As far as the pickup locations that makes sense... I guess the difference in tone will be much more subtle, but I think for me it would be pretty useful, as that is the "sweet spot" both for my tone and where I play (and therefore where I rest my thumb). That being said, tonaly how would a fatboy compare to a MXY compared to an AXY? I really love the tone of my Europa with the neck soloed, the filter all the way up, the Q switch engaged, and with the treble and bass boosts on... it rocks!!! Basically I love that tone, but just wish there was a pickup for my thumb to rest on where I naturally play at with my right hand - plus I don't really use the bridge pickup much... but it would be nice to have a few tonal options for fun... any recommendations?

On a neck through instrument, doing the body in color and the neck natural would be complicated. You have to mask the neck when you spray the color then you also have to mask the body as you spray the neck; at any rate, the transition from color to natural won't look very good. Of course, on a set neck or bolt-on the problem is much easier to deal with. Here's an example of a set neck with colored body and natural neck. http://alembic.com/club/messages/631/19065.html?1152566682

MXYs and AXYs are the same pickup in a different shell. The Fat Boy is shaped & wound like an AXY but has the magnet from Series pickups which is quite a bit heavier and has a much wider aperture; in other words, it's loud. If you're after brightness I'm not sure you'd like a Fat Boy. The good news is that, whatever you choose, if you don't like the pickup, swapping it around is real easy.

As far as postioning goes, that's personal. If you go with 2 AXYs or MXYs the closer the pickups are, the more they'll sound the same. If you choose a fat boy/axy combo then they wouldn't sound as similar even if they are fairly close.

Ahhh... OK, thanks for the info! I guess the painted basses with natural necks I saw were fairly specialized (Jason Newstead's 5 string at S.F. Guitar Center), come to think about it, or actually set necks anyways (like the one you linked). Yeah, a sarin fiished painted neck should be fine.

Thanks for the info on the various pickups. One last question: on an AXY what coil "sees" the strings, typically? Would it be the towrd the neck or toward the bridge?

In an AXY, MXY or FatBoy, the coils are stacked, not next to eachother like in a humbucker. The coil that sees the strings is the upper coil with a magnetic core. The humcancelling coil is below the magnetic core coil, towards the back of the instrument.

Jason's were the first ones we made with a painted finish and satin natural neck. It was a lot of work, all the taping and masking, but it turned out really nice. A satin finish on black paint woul look absolutely terrible, so that's why we made his with the natural finish necks.

OK, the satin neck finish on white would be cool if that would work for you and look OK. No, no toxic chemical finishes, please... but maybe some teflon to really speed things up! (kidding)

Yeah, you have a point - if it sounds good then don't mess with it. For the neck pickup I would agree, but since I never go for that "close to bridge pickup sound", and since what I need is a nice thumb rest for my right hand, and since it would be cool to still have more than one tonal option - then the choice is clear: move the bridge pickup toward the neck. If it was moved up about 1.5" or so then that would be about right, roughly. I guess I should cut and paste some MXY and AXY clips on an existing Europa picture to get a better idea of what it would look like and take some accurate measurements.

You make thumb rests?!?! That is great... I actually had to sand down a plastic Fender thumb rest and tape it to my new Europa... which actually doesn't look to bad, but it is a shame that such a nice bass has to have that cheap peice of plastic on it. I would love to see pix of past thumb rests you have made. Also, I can get some dimensions for what I would need for my current Europa as well, then maybe you can quote me? I would likely just used double sided tape to attach it.

Consider using AXY pickups, or at least one for the bridge position. The magnet in a regular AXY is only about half the width of the housing. This might give you the option to reverse the direction of the pickup and effectively move it an inch or so to try a slightly different tone.

Second, consider the FatBoy for the adjusted bridge position. This has been a recommended upgrade in the past and I think it will bring the bridge pickup tone more in line with the neck pickup meatiness you seem to prefer. If you don't like it, you should be able to engineer a trade for an AXY or buy one for cheap money (at least compared to the cost of the bass!)